1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to a system for transporting discrete articles such as rolls of paper towels or tissue, and during the course of such transport consolidating the articles from a predetermined number of flow paths upstream from the system into a lesser number of flow paths.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is sometimes desirable to consolidate several lines of transported discrete articles into a lesser number of lines. For example, such consolidation is necessary when downstream equipment does not have the capability of handling the same number of lines of discrete articles as upstream equipment. In the field of paper converting such a problem has been encountered wherein an orbital saw is capable of cutting three or more logs of tissue or toweling into separate rolls disposed in three lines but downstream wrapper equipment can only handle a two lane input. This has necessitated developing a simple system to consolidate the rolls into two lines during transport. Prior to this development such task was often handled manually thus adding to the labor costs involved in the production of the finished product. While consolidating machinery does exist it is characterized by its relatively high cost and complexity.